Month: June 2016

There are few cities in the world with such a wonderfully poetic sounding name as California’s own Walnut Creek. Located just a 20 minute drive from Oakland and near to San Francisco Bay Area, it is a popular center for visitors to other nearby cities of Oakland and San Francisco and serves as a hub of lively, vibrant and charming city life.

Many of the buildings in Walnut Creek are well over 100 years old and the added charm of history has become a pull to home owners and tourists alike. There are several new builds in the downtown area too where retail shopping malls, cinemas, theatres, sports centers and charming restaurants add to the charm of the city.

The history of Walnut Creek is also filled with a sort of romancing and colourful past: It was the Indians from Bay Miwok that dominated the area where the city lies today. Later, four Mexican grants for release of land, originally territory owned by Juana Sanchez de Pacheco, was given over in a series of deeds in the mid-19th century.

American settlers later came along and the community first got its name with the completion of the post office in – what was then Nut Creek – and was formerly named the community of Walnut Creek.

The Californian Walnut tree grows throughout the valleys and creeks of the surrounding countryside, hence the name given to this community over a century and a half ago. The city became larger when the railroad system from the south was finally built in 1892. Walnut Creek became part of Contra Costa County as recently as 1914.

Walnut Creek is well known across California as the city that panders to the cycling community. There are hundreds of bike trails and the Costa Contra Canal Trail is an excellent, scenic bike route running from east to west for the most part.

Walnut Creek is also home to several art galleries, exhibitions, outstanding shopping centers and the Boundary Oak Golf Course. There are a couple of museums in the city that are well worth the visit too. The Lindsey Wildlife Museum and the Shade Lands Ranch Museum are large exhibition centers, which can take most of the day to simply walk around.

However, it is the open space that makes this city so attractive with its bike trails at Lime and Shell Ridge and plenty of outstanding hiking trails, such as the Fossil Hill Way. This open space and small town feel (compared to the major East Bay Cities), is what attracts many families and home buyers. It’s short commute to the city and it’s great school system also is a plus.

The Ken Mercer Sports Park is an award winning activity center in the heart of Pleasanton with sports facilities for all ages and all skill levels to keep the entire community fit, healthy and active. Several sports take place here including many amenities like baseball diamonds, soccer pitches, basketball courts, bocce, volleyball, handball, football and even skateboarding.

Here you’ll be able to find and join a number of sports leagues, programs and affiliations where being active, enjoying sports and getting to know your neighbours happens daily. The men’s basketball league runs from fall season right through until the end of spring. There are separate leagues for novices and intermediate teams and you only need six players to register a team. You can play – or even just come along and watch some great slam dunking on Wednesday and Thursday nights between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Volleyball is also a popular sport here to keep adults healthy and active and the leagues run at the same time as the basketball league does. Games take place on Monday nights from 7 p.m. and you’ll see three classes here of novice, intermediate and advanced.

The Ken Mercer Sports Center also caters to the younger generation by holding summer camps and sports including archery, baseball, cheerleader classes, volleyball and softball.

The youth programs are open to all ages and all skill sets. The recreational youth basketball program runs right through the summer and offers plenty to do for the children into the school summer break.

Even the very young are catered to at the sports center with a gingerbread pre-school club where the very little ones can enjoy crèche facilities and recreational games.

No sports center can be complete without tennis courts – tennis is a passion among Californians and just across the street from Ken Mercer Sports Park, is the Pleasanton Tennis Complex. The complex includes 10 professional courts and even runs a special summer school camp so kids can get prepared for a possible future at Flushing Meadows, Melbourne or Wimbledon.

The Ken Mercer Sports Park truly is an award-winning place for the entire family and located centrally, just north of downtown Pleasanton.